Beyond The Veil
by nymphaeleas
Summary: The Veil was not supposed to bring people back, especially not someone like him, and yet he was standing right before her, his intense gaze never leaving her face, engraving itself in her mind. Absentmindedly she licked her lips, craving to understand, to unravel the mystery of his return.
1. Chapter 1

So, this is my first Harry Potter story, as well as my first fanfiction, as I usually write original stories, but to practise my English and to indulge in some of my favourite couples, I decided I'd finally give it a try. So please be gentle with me.

I had the idea of a Regulus & Hermione story for some time, but never went through with it, because I was caught up writing my own novel, and while it certainly is an interesting couple not many people consider it, but when I started reading _Ready for the Storm_ by the incredibly talented Calebski (You should definitely read all her stories!), I found myself writing immediately.

This story is rated M for a reason and will most likely include adult themes/violence/murder in later chapters... So far I have got a general outline for the story, that will finish within 10-20 chapters, but who knows what will happen along the road.

For story-purpose, I tweaked Regulus' birth date a bit, and made him a bit older, he still died in 1979 though but was born in 1959, so at the point of his death, he is 20.

* * *

Beyond The Veil

The Prologue

 _Spring 2000_

 _Department of Mysteries_

The dark, empty corridors of the Department of Mysteries still creeped Hermione out, even though she had been working the past year as a newly appointed Unspeakable in training, alongside some of her Hogwarts classmates. While she had returned to Hogwarts to finish her last school year, she had been thinking about her future career, and even though Harry had tried to convince her, that she would make a great Auror, she eventually refused. She wasn't the person, that recklessly engaged in duels and tried to hunt down dark wizards, she knew that and everyone else as well, although Harry had been initially disappointed, when she had turned down Kingsley's offer.

Someone like her was much better suited for research, it was her field of study and something she loved. From the beginning of their Horcrux hunt until the very end she had been the striving force behind it. While Hermione had absolutely loathed the time they had to spent hidden, uncovering the secrets of the Deathly Hallows and Voldemorts Horcruxes had been one of the few things, that had brought her somewhat of joy during this time. So when she had received a letter of invitation from the head of the Department of Mysteries during the last months of her 8th year in Hogwarts, she immediately agreed to meet him. The prospects, that the mysterious tall man, who didn't even tell her his name had given her were more than what she could ever ask for. Hermione would be freely studying subjects, which were still a mystery to the wizarding world, especially the matter of time and time-travel was something she longed to research more profoundly since she had regularly used a time-turner in her third year.

The offer was not something she spent much contemplation on, while she had been offered more than enough positions within the Ministry or at other institutions, her mind had always gone back to the Department of Mysteries and her possible future as an Unspeakable. It was just so tempting to work with like-minded wizards and witches, who were as fascinated by the unknown as her.

When she had told Harry and Ron about her plans, they had seemed uneasy, while Harry begrudgingly accepted her decision, although he tried to get her to swear, that she would never enter the Death Chamber, Ron had actively tried to talk her out of it. To no avail, she stood by her decision and started her three-year-long apprenticeship to become an Unspeakable after she completed her 8th year at Hogwarts. To her surprise Zacharias Smith and Blaise Zabini were offered positions as well, thus the three were often forced to work together and formed an awkward, yet civil trio, although Hermione secretly thought, that Zabini was much nicer than the pompous git Smith. Eventually they all passed their first-year exams and had to choose one particular area of interest in which they would write their first research paper, Hermione had chosen time-turners, Zabini prophecies and lastly, Smith had picked the Veil as his first study object.

Hermione briskly walked down the hallway to her meeting with Zacharias Smith, who had boasted about a new breakthrough in his Veil studies, and that he would show her something _spectacular_ , even though Hermione doubted it would be anything like that. After having to work with Smith for most of the last year, she had realised that he loved to exaggerate, and possessed a somewhat sneaky trait, which reminded her of his cowardly behaviour during the Battle of Hogwarts. She did not actively condone his actions at that time, but still, his escape before the battle, when he forcefully pushed first years out of his way to secure his flight stayed with her and made her somewhat critical and yet cautious of him.

Tired, she opened the door to the death chamber with a lazy motion of her wand, her eyes were immediately drawn to the veil, which stood in the middle of the chamber, though today it was uncharacteristically enveloped in a thin bluish mist.

"Zacharias?" Hermione asked softly and felt a shiver run down her spine when her voice echoed through the room. "I am really not in the mood for your games tonight, Smith!"

She suddenly felt cold in her dark blue robes, blaming it partly on the depressing aura, that the veil emitted, sometimes she still dreamed of Sirius falling through the veil, his shocked face before he was somehow pulled by an unknown force in direction of the veil burned itself inside her memory and she could still hear Harrys cries as he desperately tried to follow his godfather.

The veil was a mystery, a riddle, that so far no one had uncovered, solved. In the past centuries countless of wizards and witches had tried to find an explanation for the veil, for its purpose, his origin and finally its strange power and yet they all had failed. Some had even gone mad to the point they willingly passed through the veil. Eventually, researchers got gradually less. Most Unspeakables put their efforts into different research and the death chamber was almost forgotten, some even called for a seal off, as they thought this chamber to be too dangerous to enter.

Nothing of that sort happened, but after the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, a newfound interest in the Veil arose, since strange voices, that seemed to originate from the veil, were not only heard by those, who had been in direct contact with death, but also by others, who had never faced death in any sort. Today though the veil stayed silent, while Hermione's eyes were transfixed on the giant archway. Something was off, she realised with a gasp. Not only was the mist baffling, but also the aura surrounding the veil had changed, the air was practically buzzing with magic.

"Smith!" Hermione tried it again. She was sure, that he, to a certain degree was responsible for this change, or did at least know what triggered it.

"Granger, Sorry. Sorry," Zacharias quickly appeared behind her in the hallway. "I was caught up with business."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his arrogant tone, and simply nodded in direction of the archway, "So what was your memo all about? A breakthrough? In your Veil Studies?"

"Well come on in. I am quite sure my research results will astonish you," he said smugly and lead her to a wooden desk, that was placed on the left side of the room, near the ascending steep steps, which enlaced almost the whole chamber. The dais with the archway was merely a few metres away.

"I am sure they will," she replied a moment too late, as he was rummaging through his notes, which were sprawled out on the table. Suddenly, Hermione felt a cold rush of air in her face, the notes on the desk rustled, sheets fell down and were carried away by a surprisingly strong wind. She nervously registered, that the wind seemed to come from the direction of the veil, while Smith, apparently unaware of what had transpired pulled an old tome from under a stack of unreadable notes.

"This, Granger is the key," he informed her proudly and gestured to the veil. "You remember the runes on the archway, don't you? The ones no one so far was able to decipher? Well, I have."

She doubtfully arched her eyebrows, "That is impossible, Smith. Show me the book."

A snobbish smile appeared on his face, as he handed her the tome, "Granger. Give me _some_ credit. I took Ancient Runes in my NEWTs and received an O, so please spare me that look on your face. I knew exactly what I did."

Appalled she looked up, "What do you mean, you knew exactly what you did?" she slowly asked, bracing herself for his answer. "You did not _use_ those runes, did you?"

"I tried some spells, and may have used a summoning rune, that dated back to the time this archway was built, I am pretty sure the runes are actually written in ancient italic script, that's why no one figured it out until now, they just didn't think about this possibility!" Smith claimed excitedly while gesturing to the archway, where she could make out the faintly blue glowing runes, which were inscribed just above the actual veil.

"They are glowing," she stated faintly.

"I know, it must be the side effect of the spell, but I wouldn't think too strongly about that, it is merely proof my experiment worked."

Hermione regarded him with disdain before she scanned the runes he marked in the book. "What kind of spell did you use anyway? Besides, what do these runes stand for?"

Smith walked over to her side, and snatched the book out of her hands, "Granger, like I said. A summoning ritual. We already know, that some people passed through the veil without actively dying on this side, That got me thinking, that we could try to bring them back with the help of these runes. Actually, I personally think the veil was created for the purpose of bringing dead people back to life."

"With a simple summoning spell? Do you honestly think it is that easy? I seriously doubt it," she coldly replied. "Besides, do you even have a permission for your experiments, I remember reading using magic on the archway is restricted to Unspeakables in training, and if I were you, I'd be a bit more careful with those claims without even having proof."

Smith shuffled his feet but did not answer her. Instead, he kept glancing at the Veil and finally back to her. For a split second, he regarded her with something oddly similar to pity, until his face went blank again.

"I am sorry, Miss Perfect, but sometimes you have to break the rules to achieve something. I am sure especially someone like you would agree."

"While I see your point, I disagree, _Zacharias_. The instances in which I broke the rules were of different nature, I had a valid reason, mainly to stop Voldemort, but you are just looking for a chance to impress the higher-ups while disregarding the standard procedure and endangering yourself and others. We do not know how the Veil works, but we do know that once you pass it, you never come back. Smith, all I am saying is that you should be more careful," Hermione said as gently as she could muster.

She knew Smith would probably be unresponsive to her criticism, as he always was, but she hated how he seemed so indifferent towards everyone else except himself, even if danger seemed quite apparent. One year of working together had taught her, that he cared only about his own success, other than that he led a completely superficial and vapid life, which consisted of dating pretty witches, meeting his mates for Quidditch and dining in the most expensive restaurants London had to offer. Despite loving to boast to others, especially Hermione about his influential family, she ironically had overheard how he unsuccessfully tried to gain support from a few high ranking ministry officials to finally get a seat at the Wizengamot for his family. So far she had kept silent about this embarrassing scene, although she had been tempted to use it against him.

"I am careful," spat Smith viciously, before he walked up to the archway and turned to her. "I don't see how I need to listen to you, Granger. I am merely doing what I am supposed to do, and that is studying the Veil."

"Oh please, as if you actually care about your studies!"

Faintly she could hear a low rumble in the distance, but brushed it off, she currently had more important things to worry about, was is just her imagination, or did the mist grow thicker?

"Now tell me, why exactly the magic in this room seems to be on the very edge of exploding?" She enquired sharply and stared in Smiths direction, as he seemingly grew uncomfortable.

"I... don't know."

"What do you mean? You were the one who... did _this_!" Angrily she put her hands on her hips and looked up into his pale face searching for any signs of regret, instead, she just found anger.

"Look, I used one of these spells or rituals in the book you're holding. _Just a simple summoning spell,_ " he repeated between clenched teeth, although he almost seemed confused by his own insistence. "Here, right there. The runes on the Veil fit with the ones the author listed at the bottom of the page. Obviously that cannot be coincidence, so naturally, I tried the spell he suggested and it did have an effect on the Veil. I read various historical reports on the experiments they conducted on the veil, none of them produced any signs or effects on the archway. So this can be considered a breakthrough, you cannot argue with that, Granger."

Hermione stared blankly at her co-worker before she slowly replied. "Well, to some extent perhaps yes, though I'd hardly consider ominous mist, glowing runes and a malign magical aura a positive sign. Something is terrible –," she abruptly stopped mid-sentence when a rune in Smiths book caught her eye. Hermione quickly compared the runes he marked with the ones inscribed into the archway, trembling she lowered the tome in her hands. She suddenly felt as if all air had vanished from her body, it was difficult to breathe and her heart started racing.

"Cat got your tongue, Granger?"

She did not answer him at first, too shocked was she from her discovery. A thousand thoughts went through her mind, but none appeared to be calming. If the runes Smith had used for his ritual were indeed wrong then the consequences could be disastrous. More importantly, what could possibly happen if the Veil were to set free its magic? She honestly did not want to know, the thought alone generated a tight knot in her stomach and she dimly registered that the deep rumble had grown stronger in intensity and its echo had an almost deafening effect.

"They don't match... the runes don't match," she finally croaked out.

Smiths' face went white, "No, I checked. For countless times, I checked. They match!"

"NO!", she screamed in his face, angrily he snatched the tome out of her hands and frantically studied the runes, before his shoulders fell in defeat, "Oh Merlin."

Hermione almost felt pity witnessing Zacharias Smith so lost and confused, and yet she reminded herself that he was the one who had been irresponsibly trying spells on an ancient magical structure. She took a deep breath to calm herself down, at least one of them had to keep a clear head, taking Smiths hand she led him to the door, where he all of the sudden wrenched himself out of her grasp.

" _What are you doing?_ "

"Well, how does it look like? I am getting help," Hermione replied exasperated, something about Smiths behaviour unsettled her, his eyes kept glancing to the Veil as if he was waiting for something particular to happen, while the look in his face was downright chilling. "This... _situation_ is definitely out of hands, so we should better be alerting the superiors. Perhaps they know more about these strange side effects to your experiment."

"I don't think that is necessary, Granger."

Frowning she faced him, "I very much think so, Smith."

Before she even realised what was happening he had pulled out his wand pointing it in her direction. A determined expression had found its way in his face, "I can't let you do this. Do you honestly think I would risk my Unspeakable career for this? Come on, I thought you were smarter than that. I might have made a mistake, but everyone does at some point, it wouldn't be fair if I had to pay for it. Don't worry, I will just erase your memories of the past hour, nothing too damaging. I am not that cruel."

Appalled Hermione instinctively grabbed her own wand, the sudden turn of events infuriated her to the point where she wanted to curse him on spot for his childish, yet selfish behaviour, though her more rational side urged her to negotiate with him first, "Zacharias, be realistic. _They_ will notice if you have meddled with my memory, and don't you think you are overreacting a bit... you might get a fine, but they certainly won't fire you."

 _They should though, she thought darkly._

For a moment, it seemed as if her words got through to him until he sent a stunner in her direction that she easily reflected. She did not want to fight him, but it looked like he didn't give her any other option. Angrily she shielded herself from the curses he sent her way, they weren't particularly dark curses, but she could feel her defence weaken simply due to the sheer amount of spells he tried to curse her with. Grimly Hermione considered her options, she could either fight back at Smith or run away to her superiors informing them of the dangerous condition the Death Chamber appeared to be in, but would she even make it that far without Smith reaching the point where he'd use more dangerous spells? Though she knew he was by no means a remarkable duellist she wanted to be on the safe side as she feared she got a bit rusty herself. Her last duel had been ages ago.

A sudden thunderous sound caught their attention and Hermione realised with apparent terror that it originated from the Veil, she felt the magic shifting in the air, sizzling with power, as they both lowered their wands silently observing the archway. Flashing lights appeared in front of her vision when she saw something resembling a swirl appear within the veil. Tightly she shut her eyes to the point where it hurt, hoping that if she would open them she would be at home, or at least somewhere else and that none of this had happened, but her hopes were futile, she knew that. There was no way she could ignore her current situation, especially now that it became hard to breathe, as the thick magical aura of the Veil engulfed her, seemed to swallow her whole.

"Smith!"

"Granger! We have to –" his voice got cut off by a sudden intense gust of wind, his notes were fluttering through the air and Hermione had to squint her eyes to detect Smith in the dark mist. He was crouched and apparently searching for something on the floor. Slowly she crawled in his direction, her anger at him forgotten, though she swore to herself that she would get her revenge if this was over... and if they would survive.

"We need to get out of here", she screamed in his face after she arrived at his side and pulled at his robes.

"My wand, I need my wand!"

"Smith! Don't worry –, you can get a new one, we have to hurry! Come!" Hermione desperately tried dragging him to the direction in which she suspected the door. Their movements were slowed down by their disorientation and the icy wind that enveloped them like a thick blanket, but they somehow managed to walk a few metres when Smith abruptly pulled away from her. Annoyed Hermione looked over her shoulders to demand that he'd stop obstructing their escape when she saw the terrified look in his eyes. Before she knew what he was doing he gripped her wrists so hard his short nails were digging into her skin.

"What are you –?" She didn't get to finish her question since she was violently ripped forward into Smiths direction in the very next moment. Dimly she registered Smiths laboured breathing next to her ear before they were both brutally pulled into the direction of the Veil. When the realisation hit her that they would most likely pass through the other side they were already just a few metres away from the archway. Desperately she met Smiths gaze and tried to free herself from his strong grasp.

"DON'T!" Smith cried in terror, his eyes widening.

The wind roared loudly as they were dragged closer to the bluish glowing Veil, Hermione tried hard to think of anything that she could do, but her mind had gone completely blank. Was she really going to die like this? After they had just won the war and she had barely adjusted to her new life? There wouldn't even be a corpse, no one would know what had transpired, except that she had disappeared together with Zacharias Smith.

With newfound determination she stared at his hands which were still holding her firmly in space, bruising her wrists. Silently she repeated the incantation _Relashio_ in her mind, focusing all of her energy on him. Although she had trained her Wandless magic skills after she started her Unspeakable apprenticeship, however using an actual curse on another person was something even accomplished wizards needed years to master. Nervously Hermione closed her eyes and tried it again until she heard a painful scream coming from Smith, his hold on her relaxed for a split second. A time that she used to break free from his grip, immediately the pull towards the Veil lessened, it almost seemed as if only Smith was intended to be pulled through.

Before Hermione could continue her chain of thought, his face had contoured in rage and he tried to grab her hands again, as she tried to shake him off, he got hold of one of her robe sleeves, victorious he smirked up to her while she felt the sharp tug in direction of the archway again, which was barely three metres away from them.

"Let me go!" She urged him, desperately.

He laughed maniacally, "No! If I die, I'll take you with me!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" she screeched.

Even through the wind, she could hear the voices now, whispers that were enticing her, calling out her name. She knew that it was an illusion but hearing the voices of people she loved and would never see again let her for pause for a moment, whereas the aching of her heart intensified, hot tears were running down her cheeks. Her right hand instinctively grabbed her wand, she needed to make her decision now, but how could she? Leaving Smith to his obvious fate would haunt her forever, but wasn't it his fault that she found herself in such a predicament anyway? She felt angry that she still was so torn over sacrificing Smith, while he evidently did not have a problem dragging her down with him. A small voice in the back of her head urged her to finally cut him off, furiously she ignored it, helplessly trying to come up with an option that would rescue him, but she had to accept the bitter truth

Resigned she pulled out her wand completely and pointed it at her sleeve, she did not waver when Smiths' eyes widened terrified, silently begging her to reconsider, Hermione, however, had made her decision.

"I am so sorry," she whispered, not sure if he could hear her. "I... I don't want to do this, believe me, but... but I need to."

Zacharias Smith kept silent, though he did not let her go. The felt the archways magic surrounding her, small light flashes emerged from the tip of her wand.

" _Diffindo._ "

Although her desire to close her eyes and not witness the next scene was strong she did not shut them when Smith was violently pulled through the veil. Within seconds he just disappeared behind the transparent curtain, his face drained of all colour was the last thing she saw. For what felt like an eternity Hermione knelt on the cold stone floor, staring through the Veil, still holding her wand in her hand, her knuckles had long since turned white. She did not even register how silent the Death Chamber had become and that the runes above her head were still glowing faintly.

Reluctantly she got up, staggering through the room to the door when she noticed a body not far from where she stood. A million thoughts rushed through her mind, was is it possible that Smith somehow managed to come back? Or had it all been a hallucination?

She slowly walked over to the person, her heartbeat pulsing in her ear whereas her breathing pace increased. Finally, she stopped dead in her tracks. It was not Smith, she noticed first of all. A tall man was lying unconscious on the grey tiles, his dark hair appeared to be wet and hid almost all of his face so that she could just make out his mouth in the dim light of the room. His lips were almost blue and his skin looked sickly pale whereas the man's weak breathing was ragged and uneven. Hesitantly Hermione crouched down touching his hand, immediately she pulled back as if she had burned herself, he had felt like a corpse.

Swallowing hard she regarded him, even his robes which appeared to be expensive were soaked with water that smelled mouldy and of death. Where did he come from, she thought faintly before she registered the ring on his finger.

It was a signet ring, she realised after a few moments before she carefully pulled it off his finger for closer examination. A green stone was inset in the simple gold ring and when she squinted her eyes, she could even notice the engravings of a coat of arms.

A _very_ familiar coat of arms that she had seen countless times she had entered Number 12 Grimmauld Place, one that was engraved in her memory. Before she could even start thinking her mind completely shut off. With a loud thud Hermione's body hit the floor, though she did not feel pain, instead, she simply passed out.

A/N: Oh my... don't you love it when Zacharias Smith is a dick? And is there any fic where he is not?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II

 _A/N Thank you so much for the reviews for the prologue! I hope you like the first real chapter, do let me know if you do!_

Waking up in an unfamiliar bed and not immediately recognising her surroundings was something that made Hermione all too often tremble with fear. She figured it was due to their year spent on the run and the constant fear of being discovered in their hide-outs. Wearily she opened her eyes, the garish white of the walls temporary blinded her, but she gradually got used to the light. They must have transferred her to St Mungo's, she thought faintly and carefully touched her head which was painfully stinging, she flinched at the touch and slowly sat up on her bed. Various pain potions were standing on the bedside table for her to take and while she was tempted to drink one she hesitated, her hands trembling as she struggled not to grab one of the bottles.

She remembered her own reflection in the mirror in the Gryffindor dorms, the dark bags under her eyes that seemed to never disappear and the ever ashen look of her skin and how she had struggled the first months after the battle of Hogwarts to go one day without a pain potion. To witness the destruction of her beloved school every day and missing familiar faces that she would never see again had been daunting.

For Hermione spending another year in Hogwarts had meant to relive the still fresh memories of the battle firsthand, but she had wanted to help rebuild with the intention of making the castle her home again and especially facing her very own fears that would not let her sleep.

 _It had been all too much though._

Most notably in the first weeks, she spent her free time hidden away in the comfort of her own room, staring blankly into the ceiling, a particular indifference had overcome her, possessing every inch of her mind. The nights were what she feared most, nightmares plagued her for most of the time with almost always the same result; she would wake up screaming hoarsely, her heartbeat painfully fast, sweat streaming down her face. The pain potions alongside sleeping draughts had made everything so easy at first, but soon she found herself drinking the potions in a regular fashion, only the thought of omitting them for a day caused an uneasy feeling to settle in her stomach. After a while Hermione had hated how dependent she had become of the potions, particularly when she realised she was running from herself, cowardly escaping the real world.

Grimly she leaned back into the pillows, willing herself to lay still, until she heard voices from the corridor, perking up her ears she pretended to sleep in case someone would enter the room.

" – We made tests, they're all negative, Minister. I assure you, he's very much alive", a female voice stressed exasperatedly.

"I know, _I saw him._ But you cannot deny that we are at loss here. He has been dead for over 20 years and now he's suddenly back... that reeks of dark magic."

 _The man!_ With sudden clarity Hermione remembered him, how he had been lying on the cold floor, barely breathing, appearing to be almost dead. He had been so cold, she thought with a shudder. Abruptly she pressed a hand to her mouth to muffle a surprised noise. If he had been dead for twenty years then there was only one person he could be. Only one person would wear the ring of the heir of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black. A ring that had been lost ever since his death.

The person she had found was Regulus Black.

"Are you suggesting Hermione practised dark magic to bring him back?" Harry's voice inquired sharply.

"No, all I am saying is that – oh don't look at me like this, Harry. No one seriously believes Hermione has got anything to do with is, but please hear me out," Kingsley requested gently. "You must admit that the circumstances under which they were found were odd. Three bodies in the Death Chamber and no trace of what actually transpired in the Death Chamber."

"Well, we just have to wait until Hermione's awake then. Is it – is it bad that I am wishing it would have been Sirius instead of _him_?" Harrys voice sounded strangled, even guilty and Hermione wanted nothing more than to hug him at that very moment,

"Don't feel guilty, Harry. It is only natural that you are disappointed and by all means, you are allowed to feel that way. After all, Sirius returning through the Veil would even have been the, well more logical thing to happen, but perhaps the Veil does not work like that. Who knows."

"I am not disappointed, I am just confused... he looks so similar and yet I don't know him at all, he's a complete stranger and how am I supposed to explain that I am living in his home? I just don't know how I am supposed to deal with this."

"Harry, it's alright. You will figure out a way, I doubt Regulus will give you a hard time. Come on, let's see if Hermione has woken up."

Hermione set up straight in her bed, deciding she wouldn't _sleep_ any longer and watched as the door was slowly opened, Harrys worried face was the first thing she saw, after him a stern looking witch wearing green Mediwitch robes followed and finally Kingsley, clad in fancy royal blue robes stepped into the room.

"Hey," croaked Hermione out, her heart suddenly racing as she took in the serious expressions of the three visitors.

"Hermione! I am so glad, you are finally awake," Harry exclaimed as he came up to her and pulled her into a tight hug. She smiled softly at his familiar scent and already felt much calmer inside, although she dreaded having to answer their questions.

"Harry, please. I was just unconscious," she replied awkwardly into his unruly hair "I am fine, just having a slight headache."

He finally let her go and sat down on the edge of the bed, exchanging a meaningful look with Kingsley, who stood by the window.

"You've been out of it for more than 24 hours, Mione. We were worried."

Surprised she looked up, had she really been unconscious for more than a day?

"Hermione, do you remember what happened in the Death Chamber?" Even though Kingsley's voice was gentle, she could not help but notice the sharpness in his tone, his dark eyes seemed to look right through her and she hastily put up some Occlumency shields, although she knew he wouldn't dare to enter her mind without her permission.

"It is a bit fuzzy," she began slowly. "Smith sent me a memo that he made a breakthrough in his Veil studies, he – ah wanted to show me his results, so I went to the Chamber and he told me he did some _experiments_ , I knew he wasn't supposed to practise magic on the Veil, so I already was apprehensive, but he just wouldn't listen to me and went on about using ancient ritual magic to... well, I guess activate the Veil."

"Activate the Veil?" Harry's eyebrows shot up. "I thought the Veil's magic is still a mystery."

Hermione flinched at the accusing tone that had found its way into his voice. Working in the Department of Mysteries had brought more secrets with it than she cared to admit and keeping them from her friends, especially Harry and Ron resembled walking on a tightrope and more than once she had been too close severing said rope.

"It is, Harry," she replied evenly and sent him a reassuring smile from which she hoped it reached her eyes. Hermione hated lying to him, however, she knew she could not entrust him with any more information, she already risked dismissal by telling Harry and Kingsley more about what had transpired earlier. "That is the reason Smith chose the Veil as his study project, he wanted to find out its inner workings. Frankly, I doubt someone like him wouldn't even be of scratching the surface, though his experiments did actually show an effect on the Veil, although not a particularly positive one. When I arrived in the Chamber it was unusually cold, and it felt as if the magic in the room had well shifted, was somehow set free, honestly, it was a bit creepy. Smith then showed me a book that he had used for deciphering the runes on the Veil...," she trailed off and stared out of the window. What was she supposed to tell them now?

How she had let him go. How he had died because of her. She instinctively knew Harry nor Kingsley would blame her, and yet vocalising what had happened would turn in into something real, not a weirdly hazy memory in her mind.

"Which book did Smith use?"

Dumbfounded Hermione looked back at Harry who watched her with a strangely blank expression. "I don't remember," she whispered, feeling ashamed. Why on earth didn't she know the book's title? Why had she not cared? "I didn't pay attention."

"I am just asking because there hasn't been any book in the chamber, nothing. Even Smiths notes are gone. To be honest, it's a bit weird, because he can't remember anything about the incident, it seems like his memory ever since he started researching the Veil is gone, conveniently wiped out."

 _He could not remember?_

But wasn't he dead? She had seen him pass through the Veil, there was no way he could still be alive.

"Zacharias Smith is... fine?" She asked carefully, deciding it would be safest to not mention she had thought he was dead. The looks she earned from both men were enough for her to confirm that her lie had been noticed.

"What did you think, Hermione?" Kingsley suddenly sounded cautious, as if he was waiting for her to slip up.

Slowly she drew out her breath before answering. "Well, not soon after I arrived in the chamber, there was a sudden rumbling sound that seemed to originate from the Veil, we were both scared, but Smith told me to stay calm, as it got worse we wanted to leave and in that moment there was suddenly some sort of wind coming from the Veil, it strangely felt as if we were both sucked into the archway. I must have blacked out not soon after that. When I awoke I just saw... the man, but not Smith, that is why I am a bit surprised he was found," she explained softly, nervously glancing at Harry who absent-mindedly looked at his watch.

"There is no need to be nervous, Hermione. Investigating you Unspeakables is just – please excuse my language – a pain in the butt. No one tells us anything, no one ever sees anything. Merlin, I am actually surprised that we were even notified of this incident." Kingsley let out a sigh. "We have one person with no recollection whatsoever of the past two weeks. Then a man who has been dead for more than twenty years and is now lying unconsciously in his hospital room and finally, you, Hermione. You are the only one, who can actually give us answers."

Hermione didn't like the underlying tone of Kingsley's voice, the intensity with which he examined her. She quickly looked away and caught Harrys contemplative gaze

"So, what you are telling me, is that you want to use _Legilimency_ on me, am I right?" She raised her eyebrows at the two men, silently judging how they suddenly seemed embarrassed and wouldn't even meet her eyes anymore. It wouldn't be her first time that someone would use Legilimency on her. Part of her training included extensive Occlumency and Legilimency lessons that she found gruesome but knew they were indispensable for an Unspeakable. To her surprise, she actually had a natural talent for locking her mind to intruders, but Legilimency had not come easily to her, despite actually being able to enter someone else's mind it wasn't something she ever wanted to practise on a daily basis.

"Yes," replied Harry seemingly uneasy.

"Miss Granger is still in shock, using Legilimency on her could prove to be extremely exhausting if not dangerous to her mind. I'd advise you to wait a few days., Minister Shaklebolt."

Surprised Hermione turned to the female healer who had entered the room with both men but hadn't said anything so far. Healer Wood it said on the nameplate of the stern looking witch who watched Kingsley attentively, a slight frown tugging at her lips.

"While I see your point, Mrs Wood, this is a matter of urgency and entirely up to Miss Granger, who will decide on her own," responded Kingsley, his mouth set into a thin line.

Hermione sighed, while she ultimately agreed to Healer Wood's assertion deeming her too weak for Legilimency she felt that Kingsley would press the issue further if she wouldn't agree. For the first time since the Death Eater murders of Sussex one year ago, he seemed to be visibly shaken, if not furious under his ever so friendly behaviour.

"I'll do it," she finally said after a while, locking the memories of Zacharias Smith being pulled through the veil and her own guilty feelings over it away. She had doubts over whether it had been the right decision to lie to Harry and Kingsley but she grimly noted she could not take back her story without making them suspicious.

"Very well. Harry if you would," requested Kingsley with an apologetic smile in Hermione's direction. "I am terribly sorry, Hermione," he added softly.

Nervously Harry skidded closer to Hermione on the bed and pulled out his wand. Reassuringly Hermione nodded as the tip of his wand touched her temple.

" _Legilimens_ ," whispered Harry with a pained expression in his eyes. His Auror training had included the same lessons as Hermione had, but for him, it had been even more painful because of his excruciating history with Voldemort and his use of Legilimency on him.

She felt him enter her mind immediately, which felt different to when her teacher had done it during her practice, more intruding, less elegant. Though she figured Harry wouldn't care about his finesse as much as someone like her who had tried countless times together with Zabini to improve her skills so no one would notice they had even entered her mind, but so far they both had failed and only earned laughter of their teacher, who had told them it could take decades to master the fine art of Legilimency.

She willed the memories of last evening to replay in her mind, starting from when she walked down the corridor of the department, her initial talking to Smith and the odd atmosphere of the chamber. As they got closer to the crucial memories, she suddenly felt Harry pushing, pressing deeper to the point she groaned in pain. After a while, he disappointedly left her mind.

When she opened her eyes after some time, she saw him furrowing his brows and slowly shaking his head.

"I couldn't see them. It was like there was some sort of blockade that kept me from watching the memories. I only saw incoherent bits and pieces, that is all," he explained visibly drained from his efforts. "I think something messed with your mind, Mione... maybe even the Veil itself because it felt like I wasn't supposed to see any more than that."

"But I can see them? Nothing seems distorted to me," she whispered, not trusting her own voice. Something was terribly wrong, she felt it. It neither made sense that Regulus Black was back in the world of the living nor that Zacharias Smith was still alive and the thought someone had tampered with her memories did not ease her either. Hermione resolved to look into this when she would leave the hospital, she frankly did not trust the Auror Office to do a throughout job, especially since they were already prejudiced against the Department of Mysteries.

"We could try once more –," began Kingsley unconvinced, he was interrupted by the healer.

"No, absolutely not." She shook her head, challenging him to object, while Hermione was secretly relieved.

"As you wish, Mrs Wood," he begrudgingly admitted, before looking at Hermione. "I am so sorry we had to put you through this, but with Black returning and this group of death eaters still on the run, everything's a bit chaotic. I just hope you understand."

"I do, Kingsley. Don't worry." Hermione smiled assuringly at the minister and gave Harry a warm hug. "See you on Sunday and give Ginny my kisses, yes?"

"Alright, we'll see you then. Is it alright Ron's bringing Lavender?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Yes, Harry. I already talked to Ron about this, so don't worry."

The men both bit her farewell closing the door behind them when Hermione exhaustedly fell back into the bed. She dimly registered Healer Wood sitting down next to her, golden sunlight shining through the window, immersing the room with the warm light of the setting sun. Suddenly she felt drained out of her energy and could hardly keep her eyes open, too tempting was the thought of finally sleeping.

"I must say, I am a bit disappointed, Hermione."

She groaned into her pillow as she recognised the voice, but did not dare to look into her teacher's eyes.

"Did you use a polyjuice potion?" she mumbled drowsily.

"Naturally. Healer Wood is currently at a conference in Rome, but the Minister does not concern himself with such insignificant information. How are you by the way?"

"Well how do you think I am?" she snapped before she could stop herself. "I.. I am sorry, I'm just feeling a bit..."

"Drained?" He provided, which led her to finally face him, his light brown hair shimmered reddish in the sunlight, while his face was laced with shadows. "You were hit with an enormous amount of magic, obviously your are exhausted," he stated in an almost bored tone looking at his fingers.

Hermione nodded. "Does that explain the barrier in my mind as well? I have been reading that the mind can shut down some memories due to stress or trauma."

He slightly cocked his head. "No, that's not it. After all, you consciously as well as unconsciously weren't the one deciding to distort the memories, the Veil did. For whatever reason, I truly wonder. What I am more interested in, is why you thought Smith was dead, and please do not take me for a fool, I know you lied to those two earlier." He raised his eyebrows questioningly at her.

She frowned slightly, staring at his expensive dark blue robes instead of his face. "I saw him being pulled through the Veil... I was the one who let him go. He was holding onto me, and – and I realised that he was the one who was being sucked into the Veil but not me, so I – I let him go," she whispered with a strained voice, he soothingly touched her hand which felt surprisingly warm. "He told me that he would take me with him."

"Interesting," he commented thoughtfully. "However, if I had been in your situation I would have done the same, there's nothing wrong with wanting to survive, Hermione. After all, self-preservation exists in everyone more or less." He regarded her for a moment, Hermione felt her cheeks heat up in his scrutiny.

"My my, with every month of knowing you, I'm more convinced you should have been in Slytherin," he added with a smirk. "A more pressing issue is obviously Smith's loss of memories though. We can't even trace back his movements in the past two weeks, nor his research and what is even more baffling; there is absolutely nothing left of his notes for the Veil, everything is gone. I talked with Unspeakable fifteen, who asserted me that Smith kept large files of his current research within the chamber. Either everything has been pulled through the Veil, or someone...," he stopped, a solemn look appeared on his face.

Hermione didn't like the direction of his thoughts, because it meant someone within the Department of Mysteries had been in the Chamber of Death before anyone else, disposing of Smith's notes for a reason currently left unknown.

"He actually behaved strangely when he showed me the book. He seemed so sure of his results, to the point where I found it weird... and he did not want me to leave when the Veil began to act oddly. I – I honestly think, he already knew what would happen, but did not expect him getting pulled," she suddenly remembered.

"A serious allegation, indeed. However, I have been wondering as well why Smith would choose the Veil as his first research project, there has been a serious discussion between the other Unspeakables whether a trainee should receive that much of responsibility, he had some vocal advocates though." He stood up, straightening his robes. "We will have time to talk about Smith later, I have a meeting with the Wizengamot now, discussing Regulus Black's return to the world of the living," he mocked with a small smirk, Hermione couldn't help but smile

"What will happen to him?" She asked curiously.

He shrugged. "That is for the Wizengamot to decide, though I would wager his final betrayal of the dark lord will weigh in his favour –"

"You should stop calling him the dark lord, people will think you agreed with his ideology," Hermione interrupted bossily.

"They already regard me as a former silent supporter, if not financial contributor. A side effect of being a pure-blood, I fear. But I have no such time for idle gossip, ignoring what other people say will improve your life immensely, Miss Granger. Take my advice," he softly said, turning to the door. "Oh, and for the rest of the week you are on sick leave, do not turn up at work if you do not want me to send you back personally."

"Very well, but I will use my time to look into this," Hermione replied haughtily when the door to her room was opened once more. A young healer stepped into the doorway, he appeared to be confused about Hermione's current visitor.

"Mister Warrington, what a surprise... I didn't know Miss Granger and you were close," he finally had found his voice, furrowing his bushy brows he intently watched her teacher, who had assumed his mask of usual pure-blood indifference and arrogance.

" _We aren't_. I was here on Wizengamot business. Miss Granger is an important witness to our current case. If you would excuse me now."

The healer hurried to step out the way and both watched Mister Warrington walking swiftly out of the room without looking back. Silently Hermione rolled her eyes at his dramatic exit, although she admitted that he did look dashing in his robes.

It wasn't an unusual practice for Unspeakables to lead a double life. Pursuing an official profession everyone knew of, that functioned as a cover, while in reality working in the Department of Mysteries was a choice the majority of the Unspeakables selected. Although Gaius Warrington was a member of the Wizengamot, as well as a former lawyer who took one or two cases a year if he felt like it, his actual work lied within the Department of Mysteries. Ever since she started her training he had been her personal teacher and advisor, who she valued for his intelligence and most importantly his determination wanting to see her improve. She astonishingly had actually come to like him in the past year, even if she would never admit it to his face.

"Well, I just wanted to tell you that you are free to go home. Take these two potions, they will help with the magical exhaustion. If you like I'll add a pain potion as well?" His round face looked questioningly at Hermione.

"No, I am fine. Just the other potions, please."

He nodded and left her with a shyly spoken good-bye. The sun had already disappeared behind a tall building, leaving the room in a bluish twilight. Yawning, Hermione sleepily packed her bag and put on some clothes that undoubtedly Ginny had chosen for her in a hurry. She blindly walked to the elevator, where she stopped dead in her tracks. Her curiosity got the better of her so she turned back.

She had _someone_ to visit before going home.

 _A/N: No Regulus interaction, I am SO sorry! I will do my best to have him appear next chapter. And for Gaius Warrington, logically it is not the Warrington we know from Hogwarts, who is just two years older than Hermione. It is his father, but we might see him as well some time... who knows ~_

 _Oh, and there are so many mysteries to come, guys! I am excited!_


End file.
